Google Trusted Stores

As of June 7th, Google has announced its Trusted Stores program whereby shoppers can easily identify the stores that provide excellent shopping experiences. This badge of excellence also allows merchants to highlight their ability to make customers happy, simple as that.

The Trusted Stores program is free for merchants and consumers; however, it does entail a few strict requirements:

Merchants must provide Google with basic information about their business

Merchants must place a pixel on their shopping cart that will provide Google with order details

Merchants must submit a data feed with shopping information; Google will use this to assess the reliability of shipping estimates and delivery.

In addition to these services, Google will also help to resolve issues raised by consumers and track how effectively the merchant is able to resolve these issues. Customers are also given the option to opt into a “free purchase protection” after or during their purchase. With this, customers are given the confidence to buy online worry free and are ensured a high quality/reputable shopping experience. Google will use two ratings, shipping reliability and customer service, to provide a scorecard or badge for each merchant in the Trusted Stores program.

These badges will be displayed on merchant sites and those that are top rated will see some of their AdWords ads tagged with this badge. They will link customers to the merchant’s full scorecard detailing their shipping and customer services grades.

Reliability and Assurance

Overall, what does this mean for e-commerce? Well, for one early tests have shown “an increase of around 8-9% in conversion rate and average order values from those merchants with reliable shipping and excellent customer service” (Google). Moreover, it also creates a sense of assurance for everyone who is hesitant about the idea of purchasing products via an online platform. With this badge of quality and trust, there will be an expansion of potential consumers and shoppers everywhere.